The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Did you bring the candy?

Bao Ya spoke to Fang Mingda, completely ignoring Wang Xiao, who was glaring at her from the side.

Fang Mingda, still with that same smiling face, handed the candy to Bao Ya.

The little ones were excited when they saw the candy in Bao Ya's hand. Candy coupons were rare, and apart from getting a piece of candy during festivals, they rarely even drank sugar water, let alone Bao Ya holding so much candy.

"Sister, sister, give it to me first, give it to me first."

Dog Egg, like a playful puppy, bounced around her, and the other children joined in, shouting, "Ouch, my head hurts!"

Bao Ya, holding the candy, turned around and said to the little ones behind her:

"Stop arguing, listen to me. Let's play a game today. Everyone find a place to sit down. Whoever makes a fuss gets no turn."

The children gradually quieted down, quickly found a place to sit, and stared longingly at the candy in her hand.

Only Gou Dan was reluctant to leave and stood in front of her. That brat, he never learns from his mistakes. He got another slap on the back of the head and finally quieted down.

Seeing Gou Dan being beaten, the other children became even more obedient, each finding a place to sit down.

Wait quietly. Yes, quiet children are the cutest.

Bao Ya, holding candy, sat cross-legged facing the children, while Wang Xiao and Fang Mingda sat down not far behind her.

"Tell me, what interesting things have you seen lately, whether it's up in the mountains or down in the valleys, from our brigade or other brigades, it doesn't matter. A good story gets a piece of candy. Got it? Who starts?"

The children looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Sister Baoya, I'll go first."

Niu Dan was the first to raise his hand. This kid was the same age as Gou Dan, but half a head taller. He was the grandson of Grandpa Niu, who drove the cart in the village. His parents worked in the commune, and he lived in the village with his grandparents.

"Okay, you go first!"

"A few days ago, I saw Erzhu secretly take some eggs from home and give them to Taohua to eat. Erzhu's mother scolded him for a long time at his chicken coop. In the end, Erzhu even told his mother that they were stolen by a weasel."

"Ha ha……"

"Haha... why doesn't the weasel steal his chickens?"

Weasels don't eat eggs.

"The weasel eats the eggs."

"I won't eat it!"

"eat!"

"I won't eat it."

……

Kids, this is getting off-topic.

"Stop! Niu Dan's answer is good, here's a piece of candy for you! Who's next?"

Bao Ya took a piece of candy from the bag and handed it to Niu Dan. Niu Dan took the candy, unwrapped it halfway, and started licking it piece by piece, glancing at his friends. He smacked his lips as he licked, and his friends stared intently at the candy in Niu Dan's hand, their mouths practically watering.

"Bull testicles, are they tasty? Let me lick one."

"You two sit properly, Bull Egg. If you dare lick me again, I'll beat you up."

The little black paws licked the candy, which disgusted Bao Ya. Niu Dan wasn't angry at all; he just chuckled, wrapped the candy up again, and put it in his pocket.

Okay, you're really good at being disgusting.

"Who's next to speak...?"

Fang Mingda and Wang Xiao, who were sitting in the back, also began to understand. The village children ran all over the mountains and fields without anyone noticing. The adults thought they were ignorant and didn't hide their thoughts from them, so they knew just as much as the adults.

They considered talking to the children to find out what was going on, but the children in the village were shy and wouldn't speak to them when they saw them. They would run away after asking a few more questions.

That's a novel idea; it might yield unexpected results.

With Niu Dan setting an example, the other kids knew what to say next. It's just gossip, right? They knew that too. The old women in the village usually talked about things much more interestingly than this. They just followed along and learned.

"I! I! I'll tell you!"

"Little Shuanzi, you speak."

"Little Bean's mother hid all the family's money in the rat hole, but the rats broke it all. Little Bean's father beat his mother until her face was covered in bruises, but she still claimed that she had fallen and hurt herself."

Another child, inspired, chimed in:

"I saw Uncle Da fighting with Widow Liu on the back hill. He even made Widow Liu cry, she cried really hard."

"Uh... who is Widow Liu?"

"It's that widow Liu from my maternal village, the one from Dayangshu Brigade. She always came to the back mountain of our village to steal cotton."

"Okay, fine."

"Uncle is really fierce, he beat her pants off, and she cried for ages..."

"Okay, okay, here's your candy."

Bao Ya blushed and gave him a piece of candy.

The little kids, seeing this, thought, "Is it really that easy to get candy like this?" and started talking freely.

"I saw Yang Shu Niang and her uncle go into the haystack. They didn't come out for a long time, so I secretly set the haystack on fire. They ran away without wearing any clothes. My dad even beat me up. I told him, but he didn't believe me."

"The leper from Liujiawopeng Brigade often goes to Granny Shen's eldest son's house in the middle of the night and doesn't come out until the morning, claiming that he's there to treat Granny Shen's daughter-in-law's illness."

"Every time Wang Jiaxiaofen's eldest aunt goes back to her parents' home, she runs to my house to find my fourth uncle and even invites him to the cornfield at night. I also heard her say that she can't live without my fourth uncle. Sister, why do you think she can't live without him?"

Damn, why are you asking me? You should ask the person involved. Bao Ya quickly stuffed a piece of candy into his mouth to shut him up.

"Li Datou from Lizhuang was still holding Chunxingniang and nursing her. Chunxingniang called him a deadbeat and said, 'Deadbeat, you're late again.'"

"Uncle Hammer also said that Widow Wang's buttocks are the biggest, big and white."

"I also saw Li Sansuo biting Liu Zi's mother's mouth and refusing to let go..."

"What do you know? My dad said that's called 'qi-tonifying,' and Liu Zi's mother wouldn't survive without it. My dad also 'qi-tonifies' my mother at night."

"Hahaha, hahaha..."

Bao Ya was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. What had these little brats seen? They'd practically exposed all the dirty secrets of the surrounding villages.

Bao Ya laughed so hard she almost fell over, forgetting there were two other people behind her.

The two people behind them were blushing so hard they were practically steaming. What kind of kids are these? A bunch of little brats. Did they hear or see this? How could they possibly be so cruel to the flowers of our motherland?

The two of them wished they could disappear into a crack in the ground. They both held their breath, lest some ignorant brat drag them out and ask them questions.

Wang Xiao looked at that brat in front of her and really wanted to rip her head off, drain the water, and make the two men behind her feel incredibly embarrassed. She was a young lady laughing so hard that she was practically honking like a goose.

Fang Mingda sat cross-legged on the ground, one hand covering half of his face, unable to bear it any longer. He coughed twice forcefully.

Bao Ya was startled. She'd forgotten there were two more people behind her. She felt a little awkward. Half the candy had already been shared, and she still hadn't gotten any useful information. She quickly called for a stop.